MANGALDAI, Jan 28 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today conferred the Chief Minister�s �Krishak Sanman� award to 22 selected progressive farmers of the State at the Krishak Swahid Divas organised at Pathorughat by the State Government for the first time.
The occasion honours the memory of the 140 martyrs of the historic Pathorughat Peasants� Uprising on January 28, 1894. The award carries a cheque of Rs 50,000 to each of the 22 farmers besides mementos, traditional gamosas and bouquets.
The Chief Minister also announced that the State Government would develop Pathorughat as a tourist destination chronicling the history of the valiant peasant martyrs so that the great legacy is passed on to the next generations.
Distributing the awards introduced for the first time by the State Agricultural Department, the Chief Minister in the course of his address to a huge gathering of some 10,000 people highlighted the importance of agriculture in a state like Assam which had immense potential for a booming agro-based economy.
�We all are children of farmers. Our cultures, traditions, economy and everything are based on agriculture. We all need to be proud to be children of a farmer. We also need to create an environment where each and every farmer of the State can live with dignity and respect. Our youths need to take up agriculture as their profession, and through new technology, can enhance the agri production and make Assam the most prosperous state in the country,� he observed.
The Chief Minister, who was the chief guest of the open session, announced necessary action for developing a farmers training and research centre, a museum of Darrangi folk culture and a tourist circuit at Pathorughat in response to the long standing demands of the local people.
The open session which ended with the vote of thanks by Darrang DC Ashok Kumar Barman was also attended by Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, Mangaldai MP Ramen Deka, MLAs Binanda Kumar Saikia and Gurujyoti Das, Additional Chief Secretary KK Mittal, among others.
Earlier, the Chief Minister, who arrived at the venue around 2 pm in a chopper, paid floral tribute to the peasant martyrs. The two-day celebration of the Krishak Swahid Divas also featured a cultural rally, an agri and horticulture exhibition, farmers training, several cultural and drama presentations, etc.
